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Wayne Lotter, the conservationist who caught elephant poachers, is shot dead in Tanzania

Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg

August 18 2017, 12:01am, The Times

Wayne Lotter was in a taxi travelling from the airport to his hotel when he was murdered

A South African conservationist credited with turning the tide against elephant poaching in Tanzania has been shot dead by suspected poachers who forced his taxi off the road in the capital, Dar es Salaam.

Wayne Lotter, 51, pioneered intelligence-led anti-poaching efforts that had helped in the arrest of more than a thousand people, the jailing of more than 300 and the dismantling of several large-scale trafficking syndicates over the past two years.

He was killed on Wednesday night as he was travelling from the airport to his hotel. Two men opened the door of his taxi and shot him before stealing his laptop. He had received death threats before the attack.

Azzedine Downes, chief executive of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said that he…